Calanthia Cobbin

Alas, as these things sometimes happen, a family conundrum has occurred so I will be unable to complete my challenge this month As soon as the January challenge goes up I will essentially copy and paste these goals directly into the next challenge and continue on my merry way, I just simply won't be able to do them justice this month. I will still continue to try and pop in on the guild chat and some of the other Ranger threads though! I hope you all have a great challenge and an even better Christmas season! ~Cal

So, it's already Day 4 of this challenge and I don't have my challenge goals up... BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!! Challenge Goals: Quest #1 - Reading the Fine Print With the end of 2016 drawing near and a new year approaching, I think now is the perfect time to really evaluate my mindset and give myself a solid mental foundation for the coming year. I've been struggling with completing my challenges lately and I think a good portion of that is lack of willpower and motivation, due to a weak foundation. Basically, the temptation to NOT get healthy is currently stronger than my will to do what it takes to get healthy. Therefore, in order to succeed in this quest I must: 1. Complete a NF Academy mindset quest (or a task towards completing one) everyday during the challenge 2. Post my work in my challenge thread where applicable 3. I may miss four days total without losing points; one for each week, but if I use them all in one week then I will have none left for the duration of the challenge Successful completion with these criteria may earn up to +3 WIS and +10xp Quest #2 - Battling the Binge Marshes, Part II Since this month is about going back to the basics and creating a solid foundation of habits and willpower, I'm bringing this challenge back from last month and mixing it up a bit. I'm still struggling pretty heavily with binge-eating, and with the holidays it's been worse than ever. This month, I'm going to try to solidify the habit of tracking my food and holding myself accountable to others -- specifically, you guys -- by posting everything I eat on here, without judgment. To complete this quest I must: 1. Log everything I eat. PUBLICLY. 2. Don't worry about macros or calories 3. NO JUDGING MYSELF. Just be accountable. For full completion, I may earn up to +3 CON and +10xp Quest #3 - Ranger Training, Part II Traveling, family visits, and general laziness have really been kicking my ass these past few weeks. I was finally on track with my workout schedule, and then I got derailed. I HATE being derailed... So, as is the theme for this challenge, I'm going back to the basics and just trying to establish the habit of getting my lazy ass of the couch and doing something active. To successfully complete this challenge I must: 1. Do some form of workout/activity 4x per week 2. If I can't make it to the gym, do it at home 3. Yoga, Lifting, and any form of Cardio all count towards this goal! 4. Get off the damn couch!!! Completing all aspects of this challenge may earn a total of +3 divided among DEX, STA, & STR (based on amount of activity in each category) and up to +10xp Life Quest #1 - Fellowship of the Nerds, Part II Again, I'm bringing back a lot of quests this time around and this is one of them. For those of you who have been following along know that I have trouble posting on a regular basis, and I would really like to change that. A ranger is nothing without their fellowship, and so I want to make sure that I am getting out of my shell and reaching out to other rangers. Therefore, I must: 1. Follow a minimum of 5 other threads 2. Comment on each at least once per week Successful completion of this quest may earn up to +3 CHA and +10xp Life Quest #2 - Studying Ancient Lore, Part II As some of you may know, I am currently studying to take the MCAT early next summer, but I've been distracted and doing rather poorly at the whole "sitting down and actually studying" part. This is something that I really want to pursue to prove to myself that I am capable, and so that I can have one more reason to get off the couch and do something productive and important with my life. So, in order to complete this quest I must: 1. Study 1 chapter (or at least 2 hours, if it's a particularly long chapter) everyday out of my MCAT books 2. Sit ONLY at the kitchen table or my desk when studying 3. Turn off the TV and only listen to approved soundtrack playlists while studying Completing this quest successfully can earn me up to +3 INT and +10xp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, there you have it! Hopefully I can be more successful at maintaining my goals and momentum throughout this month despite all the craziness of the holidays! I may also end up going in and editing some of my goals to allow for some time off at Christmas, but we will see how this goes! Merry Christmas and Happy Questing! ~Cal

What is this... skullduggery... you speak of?

Loki is going down!!! *Takes off running and trips over her own bow 10 feet later*

I input my challenge goals to the epic quest page and make each quest out of 10xp, then I give myself a percentage of that xp based on completion before I mark them as completed. Then my total level becomes the same as my epic quest level. It can be a little more complicated the first time, but it works for me so I don't have to actually calculate anything

Calanthia hobbles back into the guild-tent and takes a seat near the barkeeper. She is tired and weary after sustaining some heavy blows during the previous battle, and requests a large flagon of mead from the burly man behind the make-shift counter. Cal reporting for duty! Mixed results from last challenge, but ready to come back strong!

EDIT: Challenge Goals have now been posted! Sorry I'm late! - 12/7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a Week 0 placeholder! I'll post this month's goals by the end of the week I'll be going back to the basics and mastering my mindset for this round so that I can move forward with a strong foundation! Happy Questing May your roads go ever on and on! ~Cal

So I pretty much let myself and my fellow Rangers down this week. The holidays are a rough time for my goals, especially with family visiting. HOWEVER, I am determined that the excuse-making stops right here, right NOW. That being said, here are my final percentages for each goal and the associated score: Battling the Binge Marshes: Score: 49.5% = C = +1.5 CON and +5xp Comment: I didn't do so bad on the majority of this goal, however I did slip quite a bit on the food tracking aspect of it which did drop me quite a few points over the course of the challenge. I also gave in a few times to the binge cravings, which most certainly set me back quite a bit as well. Learning Experience: Food tracking is going to be a vital aspect of staying on track for me, so this is an area that I will need to master if I am going to have any hope of defeating the binge marshes. I was doing well on food tracking, but forgot some important advice I once learned: Don't practice something until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong. Second Breakfast: Score: 60.71% = B- = +1.92 STA and +6.1xp Comment: Again, I didn't do too bad on this goal and was impressed that I was able to get the score that I did even with family coming into town. I definitely missed a few days of breakfast here, partly because I simply forgot to eat breakfast and other times because I literally had no breakfast food in the house. Either way, I need to work on this. Learning Experience: Preparation is KEY. I need to continually have breakfast items available for this to be a success. Once I ran out of yogurt I had to scramble to throw together breakfast each morning, which was highly detrimental to my goals. I Can Carry You: Score: 12.5% = F+ = +0.42 STR and +1.3xp Comment: I'm pretty disappointed in my performance for this goal. I managed to be able to get the the gym by myself a few times, but then scheduling conflicts and general laziness kept me from going pretty much the last 2 1/2 weeks of this challenge, which really killed me. I really need to get on track with my new lifting schedule Learning Experience: I am entirely capable of going to the gym by myself and do not have to rely on my husband to clear his schedule so that we can go. However, in order to go to the gym guilt-free and distraction-free, I am going to have to start going during the day and studying at night, or else it will never happen. We Hates Adulting! Score: 63.96% = B- = +1.92 WIS and +6.4xp Comment: This challenge goal could have gone much worse, though I wish it had gone better. I managed to reach level 3 most days, but really struggled with the motivation to reach level 4 productivity, which was expected since I typically hang around level 2. Learning Experience: I am capable of getting up and running errands when I need to, and I am not constrained to the house despite feeling like I need to sleep all the time. I also feel much better on the days that I am productive, so if I continue working towards a productive lifestyle perhaps one day it will brighten my overall demeanor. The Fellowship of the Nerds: Score: 34.38% = D+ = +1.08 CHA and +3.4xp Comment: I was really excited for the challenge goal, and I really wish I had done better on it. I will definitely be continually working on this, since it seems to be something that I am still struggling with. Learning Experience: I really enjoy commenting on other Ranger's posts, and until it becomes a habit I will need some form of accountability checking to make sure that I am posting and commenting regularly. Organization may be essential here. So where do I go from here? Back to the basics. I think much of my next challenge will be similar to this challenge, however I really need to work on my mindset. My Big Why and even some of my overall life goals have changed, so I think it's time to revisit the academy quests and work through those. If I'm going to make Nerd Fitness and my health a priority, I need to really get serious about establishing a system that sets me up for success. I can't wait to see what next challenge brings! May your roads go ever on and on, ~Cal

Aw man... I am sorry to report that this week I was almost a fatality in the great war against the demons, and barely made it out alive. I think this hobbit needs a bit more training so that she can be prepared for the next assault!

Okay, I'm just going to do a real quick little update for weeks 1 and 2, just using percentages and not trying to make a big deal out of how horrible it is... I was sick, but I'm over it now and weeks 3 and 4 will be excellent! Week 1: Battling the Binge Marshes - 77% Second Breakfast - 86% I Can Carry You - 25% We Hates Adulting! - 74% Fellowship of the Nerds - 75% Week 2: Battling the Binge Marshes - 20% Second Breakfast - 100% I Can Carry You - 25% We Hates Adulting! - 50% Fellowship of the Nerds - 13% Long story short, it's kind of hard to workout, do chores, and go running around to errands when you have pneumonia... but I have no excuse for not logging my food or checking in on my fellow nerds! That was just basic laziness/tiredness. I'll do better next time! Also I'm in the works of developing a contingency plan for future illnesses so that I can try to stop them before they get this bad, since I seem to get sick a lot. Perhaps I'll post it when I'm done?

^I agree! You're doing the thing!!! One thing I've learned is that there is always a positive that comes from the negative. For some mindset "homework" (I'm a teacher, homework is life ), try thinking of some things you can learn about yourself, your motivation, what works and what doesn't, etc. for your next set of "minuses." You will start to think of the bad stuff more as learning opportunities than things to kick yourself over! Good work so far I look forward to hearing about week 3!

EXCELLENT goals! I think need to take a page from your book and take smaller steps How is your challenge going??? Zombies, Run! is so great!

^agreed. Always try to spin towards the positive I manage to mess something up every single challenge, but I always look for something I can learn from it! Anything you've learned so far? Could be about what does/does not motivate you, what you could possibly change up for next challenge to improve your chances for success, anything!

Did some nice restorative yoga with the hubby a few days ago, and then I had an hour long yoga class this morning! Consider this week caught, skinned, and roasting on the fire

How goes the challenge? I hope you are doing well on your goals!!!

How is your challenge going?

That is intolerable. The horror! Definitely needed to hear this... I made myself sick these past couple of weeks by not letting my body rest when it told me it needed it!

Sorry I'm a bit late... I was sick last week I did some lunges as part of my workout with my trainer on saturday... I didn't count exactly how many, but I did 4 sets of about 20 (10 per leg per set)... so would I count that as 40 reps per leg or 80 total?

*Whew!* Sorry about that little hiatus there... Apparently I was sicker than I thought and wound up basically bed-ridden for about a week because I couldn't breathe... YAY FOR ANTIBIOTICS!!! Feeling MUCH better now and I'm ready to continue this challenge with all the strength I can give!

Thirdsies!

So so much of what you have been posting here speaks to where I am right now! We are kindred spirits, you and I! Following to support you in your journey to self-discovery Ps that Tolkien book DOES sound super interesting!

Week 1, Day 2-3 (Monday & Tuesday): Binge Marshes - 75% and 100% So Monday was not too shabby, I stayed on track for all aspects of my goal minus the excessive amount of Halloween candy that I consumed... However I'm choosing not to get mad at myself over it, because I honestly rarely eat candy and allowing myself to indulge for one day won't kill me Today was better, I managed to avoid all of the remaining candy in the house except for one piece of chocolate after dinner! I did end up having to eat out for both lunch and dinner today (due to circumstances outside my control) which I'm not proud of, but I stuck to my rules and ate the smallest size meals available and didn't let myself get out of control and binge (which is what I would normally have done), so I'm calling it a win for this challenge. Second Breakfast - 100% & 100% Easy-Peasy, Yogurt and coffee on monday, and then I had some yogurt and tea with honey rather than my typical cup of coffee today because I was feeling a little under the weather which later turned into a lot under the weather... more on that in Goals #3 & #4 I Can Carry You! - 100% & N/A On Monday I went to the gym by myself for the first time, which I posted about in the mini-challenge and was SUPER excited about! Then there was today... Remember how I was feeling under the weather today? Yeah so I planned for leg day today, but got a flat tire on the way in and had to get that changed, then I was feeling sick still so I went home and passed out for about 4 hours in the middle of the day... I'll workout tomorrow if I'm feeling better after I get some sleep tonight We Hates Adulting! - 75% & 66% Monday I was actually pretty productive and almost made it to Level 4 adulting... except I didn't do any kind of deep cleaning or writing whatsoever. I did manage to study and even put on some makeup though Which landed me at Level 3 Happy Hobbit. Today was a little tricky, because I had every intention of going to bible study and workout and was actually on my way there when I got a flat tire and spent the next 3 hours at the car shop followed by a 4 hour sick-nap. I accomplished several items under Level 3 and 4, including doing makeup this morning and drinking WAY more than the required amount of water, but then I barely did any of the Level 2 adulting requirements (cleaning, for example). Since I gave it a sincere effort before being incapacitated and accomplished the majority of the items on the overall to-do list, I gave myself a 66% for the day. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling better and will get my act together! Fellowship of the Nerds - 100% & 100% So this will be my second time posting on my own thread for the week, and I have managed to check-in on other Ranger threads everyday so far this week, which sets me up to be in good position come this weekend when I tend to get lazy with my posting So despite being sick today, I would say not too shabby! Hopefully I can keep it up! Sidenote: sorry for the wall of text!

I swear I wasn't hungry before reading this thread... but now?

Sounds like a good day to me! Just out of curiosity (and you may have already answered this at one point), but what is your major in school??? I just graduated university last year with a BS in Science Education